The Darling Ranges...Cardigan!

I've been feeling a little guilty for a while about my poor, neglected blog. I blamed my lack of updates first on my lack of an actual camera. Scott's camera broke a few months ago and I've been using my phone for all of my blog pictures since then. After Christmas came and went I finally bought myself a nice DSLR like I've been lusting over for years (a Canon Rebel T3i if anyone is wondering). I highly recommend it! I'm still learning how to adjust settings and use it better but it's easy enough for a novice like me to use and takes really amazing photos. 

I sort of fell into a rut of demotivation over the holidays and didn't do much except sit on the couch and knit while watching Breaking Bad. Blah! At least I made some progress on the Miette cardigan, but I still have to redo a sleeve and knit the button band before I can show it off.

Back around the beginning of December I picked up this awesome textured sweater knit fabric at JoAnn (I know! Who would've thought?) and agonized over what I should turn it into. At first I wanted it to be a Dixie DIY Hot Cocoa sweater, but then I thought I should challenge myself. I really need more cardigans so I began looking for a suitable pattern. I was getting frustrated trying to find what I wanted when I realized that the Darling Ranges dress could be a cardigan! All I'd have to do is cut it off at the hip. I got excited at the thought of a cute peplumed cardigan and started drafting alterations...




Since I'm using a knit fabric I thought I should remove the darts. I looked up some references and rotated the darts into the armscye as instructed. I must have done something wrong though, and you can tell in these pictures. The armscye is too low and the side seams are slanting toward the front instead of running along my sides.


I'm a little annoyed with myself at that part (yet again, should have made a muslin!) but I think it's one of those things most people won't notice. Otherwise, I really really love this cardigan! I'm sure it will get a lot of wear this Spring...or now, since it's almost 80 degrees here. It was freezing two weeks ago. Hello, weird Florida weather!


I also cut the skirt piece a bit short. I left that part unhemmed since I'm using a knit fabric and I think it looks ok as is.

The gathering at the waist was done a little differently. I used narrow elastic cut to my waist measurement and pinned at even points along the seamline. I really like how this turned out! It gives perfectly even gathers and seams to work really well on lightweight fabric. 

I still have about a yard of this material left so I'll have to see what else I can squeeze out of it. Maybe a circle scarf?

Thankfully, my motivation is back in a big way! I've been cleaning and reorganizing the house like a madwoman and taking on a new year's challenge to cut processed foods out of my diet. Which means that I've also been cooking almost every night! I may blog about this later, even though it isn't sewing related.

I'm also participating in Amy of Cloth Habit's Bramaking Sew-Along! I've been meaning to make more bras since I took Anne St. Clair's class last year, but honestly I've been too afraid of tacking it again myself. So I'm hoping this will help me along. There are over 100 participants so far! I'm still amazed by that. But really, with all the problems most women have finding a bra that fits I can definitely understand why more of us are learning how to make them ourselves.

So, what are you working on?


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